This invention relates to a new and improved playhouse for felines. The playhouse of this invention is constructed and designed to provide exercise and entertainment, and to improve the reflexes and coordination of cats. The playhouse may enable breeders to ascertain various feline personalities and other capabilities for breeding purposes, for possible use in psychological testing, and may enable food manufacturers to determine the type of food ingredients required by a particular breed of cat based on their reactions when using the playhouse.
Various descriptions of cat and similar playhouses have been published, and these include U.S. Pat. Nos. 489,354; 797,105; 1,522,307; 4,771,732; 3,464,151; 3,552,356; 3,630,172; 4,154,018; 4,177,761; 4,841,911; 4,499,855; 4,517,922; 4,712,510; 4,720,283; 4,722,299; 4,727,825; 4,771,732; 4,841,911; 4,930,448; 4,930,448; 5,009,193; 5,269,261; 5,275,127; 5,390,629; 5,544,623 5,657,721; and, 5,673,652.
However, none of the above patents provide a playhouse which enable a cat to have a relatively long period of time for enjoyment, and for observation.
According to the invention, there is provided a feline playhouse which enables a cat to partially enter the device and play with toys mounted within the interior, while viewing the toys. If desired, the toys can be arranged so that the cat can remove a toy and avoid becoming frustrated. The playhouse of this invention enables a cat to play with the device for an extended period of time, say in the order of 2-30 minutes while still maintaining a reasonable degree of interest, and this enables a viewer to ascertain matters of personality and possibly correlate food requirements with the degree of feline activity.
The playhouse of this invention provides a multi-perforated enclosure through which a cat can extend its paw or paws and play with a toy mounted within the enclosure, while viewing the toy through other perforations. The toys can be mounted on springs or on a carousel, or can simply be unattached for playing within the enclosure, for removal from the device, etc. If desired, these toys can be constructed to produce various sounds such as by voice or sound chips, or random sounds produced for example from moving objects contained within a hollow portion of a toy, such as balls. Additionally, a toy may be located in an opening of a perforation, and is attached to the enclosure by a spring means, thereby enabling a cat to manipulate the toy without requiring the cat to enter a paw into the enclosure.